Corrosion Resistance and Microstructural Evaluation of a Plasma Nitrided Weld Joint of UNS S32750 Super Duplex Stainless Steel

Super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) combines corrosion resistance and mechanical properties, interesting to applications in the oil extraction industry. In this process, wear between the tools friction and rocky materials occurs with SDSS pipes. Due to the low tribological properties, plasma nitriding process is applied to provide a surface layer with excellent wear resistance and without significant losses in corrosion resistance. Here, conventional plasma nitriding (CPN) and cathodic cage plasma nitriding (CCPN) techniques were compared to modify SDSS surface. Before and after passing by these two nitriding processes, welded joints (WJ) were subjected to a microstructural and corrosion resistance evaluation. Aiming to characterize the final product obtained, it was used characterization techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results show that using the CPN technique, at 400°C, was responsible for providing greater resistance to corrosion, when analyzing the result of potentiodynamic polarization — jpassivation = 2.60x10-5 A.cm-2 and Epite = 0.83 V than the CCPN technique when applied to the SSDS, and this was attributed to the formed diffusion layer, which is composed of the expanded austenite and ferrite phases.